This study focused on the effects of dietary Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves (ZBL) powder on the growth performance and antioxidant capacity via the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in broilers. The experiment adopted a single-factor completely random design, and 440 healthy one-day-old AA broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups: the control group (CON) was fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet, the CZ1 group was fed a basic diet with 1% ZBL powder, the CZ2 group fed a basic diet with 2% ZBL powder, and the CZ3 group fed a basic diet with 3% ZBL powder. The experiment was divided into the starter period (1-21 d) and the grower period (22-42 d). There were five replicates per group in the starter period, with 22 chickens per replicate. The same grouping as in the starter period was used in the grower period, with 20 chickens per replicate. The results showed that the addition of ZBL powder to the diet had no adverse effects on the growth performance and morphological structure of the intestine of broiler chickens in the CZ1 and CZ2 groups (P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, the diet with 1% and 2% ZBL powder significantly increased the antioxidant indicators such as CAT, T-AOC, and T-SOD in the serum and liver tissue of broiler chickens, it upregulated the related genes expression of nuclear factor erythroid derived-2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) signaling pathway such as Nrf2, NQO1, HO-1, SOD1, and CAT in the jejunal mucosa and enhanced the expression of ZO-1 and OCLN genes in the jejunal mucosa (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 1% and 2% of ZBL powder into the daily diet can enhance the body's antioxidant capacity by elevating antioxidant levels in both serum and liver, upregulates the expression of genes associated with the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in the jejunal mucosa, and helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier. The optimal addition level of ZBL powder in the diet was determined by quadratic regression analysis to be 1.36%-1.60% during days 1-21 and 1.14%-1.50% during days 22-42.

中文翻译：

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日粮花椒叶粉通过 Nrf2/HO-1 信号通路提高肉鸡生长性能和抗氧化能力


本研究主要研究了日粮花椒叶 （ZBL） 粉通过 Nrf2/HO-1 信号通路对肉鸡生长性能和抗氧化能力的影响。试验采用单因素完全随机设计，将 440 只健康的 1 日龄 AA 肉鸡雏鸡随机分为 4 组：对照组 （CON） 饲喂玉米豆粕基础日粮，CZ1 组饲喂 1% ZBL 粉基础日粮，CZ2 组饲喂 2% ZBL 粉基础日粮，CZ3 组饲喂 3% ZBL 粉基础日粮。试验分为起始期 （1-21 d） 和生长期 （22-42 d）。在起始期，每组有 5 个重复，每个重复有 22 只鸡。生长期使用与起始期相同的分组，每个重复 20 只鸡。结果表明，在日粮中添加ZBL粉对CZ1和CZ2组肉鸡肠道的生长性能和形态结构无不良影响（P > 0.05）。与对照组相比，日粮中添加 1% 和 2% ZBL 粉可显著提高肉鸡血清和肝组织中 CAT、T-AOC、T-SOD 等抗氧化指标，上调核因子红细胞衍生的 2/血红素加氧酶-1 （Nrf2/HO-1） 信号通路的相关基因表达，如 Nrf2、NQO1、HO-1、SOD1、 和 CAT 在空肠粘膜中，并增强空肠粘膜中 ZO-1 和 OCLN 基因的表达 （P < 0.05）。 总之，在日常饮食中补充 1% 和 2% 的 ZBL 粉可以通过提高血清和肝脏中的抗氧化水平来增强机体的抗氧化能力，上调空肠粘膜中与 Nrf2/HO-1 信号通路相关的基因表达，并有助于维持肠粘膜屏障的完整性。通过二次回归分析确定日粮中 ZBL 粉的最佳添加量为 1-21 天为 1.36%-1.60%，22-42 天为 1.14%-1.50%。